Beaumont physician educates other doctors on signs of human trafficking
(CBS DETROIT) - With National Human Trafficking Prevention Month coming to a close, many health care providers are learning to educate one another when it comes to spotting the signs of a trafficked individual.
Beaumont physician Jaime Hope is a medical educator. Aside from working with patients who survived human trafficking directly, she travels around the country to educate other doctors, caretakers and students. In her lessons, one of the topics discussed is recognizing if someone may be a victim.
Hope says over 80% of recovered victims report they were seen in a medical setting while they were being trafficked. She says they weren't saved in that time because medical care providers weren't able to see the signs.
"When we learn about this we can see it and the only way to help recover and rescue victims is first to see what it looks like so we know how to help. I get to train an army of people who are out there to recognize so we can continue spreading that hope throughout the land and do anything that we can to help decrease the amount of human trafficking," Hope said.
Hope says working with recovered victims has helped her and other doctors improve their awareness when it comes to potentially trafficked victims.
Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888.